All Rick Springfield wanted was for someone to please make a Starbucks run.

The 68-year-old rocker arrived at the State Fairgrounds barely an hour before his show Friday night. He was tired, he said, from a long flight from Los Angeles on a Gulfstream G4 — and then there was rush-hour traffic on Keystone Avenue — but he was still promising a high-energy show.

First, though, "I need some caffeine," he said. More specifically, an almond-milk cappuccino.

Springfield, out with a new, darker, bluesier album, “The Snake King,” played to a jam-packed crowd of mostly people who grew up on "General Hospital" and "Jessie's Girl." Here are eight things we learned about Springfield during 10 minutes backstage with him before the show.

Springfield makes a celebrity appearance on "Sideswiped," a smart, funny new YouTube comedy series about online dating. In one episode, he plays the date of a widow played by Rosanna Arquette, who’s trying to get back on her feet (or more accurately, off them).

“It’s not me, obviously," said Springfield, who is married. "It’s just a take on me, if I was single. If I was single, I actually wouldn’t go on Tinder. I’d do it the old-fashioned way and go to the bars.”

2. He didn’t understand, at first, why he needed to make a video for “Jessie’s Girl.”

On Aug. 1, 1981, the day MTV premiered, “Jessie’s Girl," the song, was already the No. 1 hit in America. Springfield and his crew had been given $1,500 to make a video, so he did the storyboard. (Memorable scene: Springfield smashing his guitar into the bathroom mirror.)

“We didn’t really know why they wanted a video because there was no MTV at the time. I thought there would be some kind of video jukebox in cafes or something that they’d put it in.

“We basically did guerrilla filming — we didn’t have permits or anything. We’d go out behind the Guitar Center on Hollywood Boulevard at 3 in the morning and play the song really loud on speakers until they called the cops and then we’d pile into a van and drive away. We had friends who lent us their apartment. We got into a theater for free — we didn’t really know what we were doing or what the point was. I just got in, luckily, on the ground floor.

“I storyboarded the whole thing and I wish I still had it. It wasn’t much of a storyline — I just copied the storyline of the song — but I did put my dog in it in the end.”

3. He doesn’t know what happened to the blonde who played Jessie’s girl in the video.

“I’ve never heard from her again. The guy went on to become a successful TV producer, I think.”

4. Anonymously playing a Storm Trooper on Episode 9 would not be a career highlight for him.

Yes, he does have some Star Wars action figures. Rare, super-expensive ones, even. One story claimed that when Springfield’s home was threatened by fire, he rushed to save his collection. But he wants to set the record straight.

“Everyone thinks I’m this 'Star Wars' collector geek. I’m selling EVERYTHING. It’s not something I want to be known for. It was just a love of toys — I love toys. So I happened to buy the right toys, but I am selling them.

“And if all my investments did as well as my 'Star Wars' toys, it would be pretty freaking awesome. But I am officially no longer the 'Star Wars' geek boy, k?”

5. He didn’t expect his struggles with depression to strike such a chord with fans.

Springfield wrote about his decades-long battle with depression — which included a suicide attempt in his teens — in his 2011 memoir “Late, Late at Night.”

“I put it in my autobiography, because it was part of my life. I didn’t think people would notice it, but everyone kind of jumped on it which I guess is a good thing. There’s healing in communal conversations. You know you’re not alone.”

6. He really IS watching you with those eyes.

“It’s not enough for me to stand on stage and play. My whole reason for playing is to connect with people, with humanity, and (going into the crowd) is my way of doing that. I’ve always been that guy that looks at the audience and reacts to the audience.

"They’re the show for me — I’m not the show. They’re the show.”

7. His favorite number is 69.

" ‘Cause, 'You get what you give,' ” he said. That, and he’ll turn 69 on Aug. 23, so he asked Friday’s crowd to sing him, “Happy Birthday.”